The Sword
by anincandescentwriter
Summary: Present day Arthur is finds himself in a field with hundreds of other tourists waiting their turn to pull the sword in the stone. Modern Day. Reincarnation.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys. So. I have already posted this, I just went back and edited it some. Not much, but I went back and changed a few things. Originally, this was going to be a two-shot, but I changed my mind because the backlash of it just wasn't working. It wasn't doing it justice. So. I have left it up your own imagination. It's more fun this way. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks.  
**

Arthur stood in the large clearing with the rest of his classmates. It was hot and crowded and Arthur was ready to go home. He was tired of hearing about old, dead people. No one cared about them anymore. It was the past. Arthur wanted to live in the present. But no, here he stood, with his class, looking at a rock. Well a sword in the rock, but that was beside the point.

His whole life all he heard about the sword in the stone, that some hikers discovered it not an hour away from the city nineteen years ago. Arthurs' mum said that is appeared shortly after he was born. She said it was a sign, that he was destined to do great things.

People from all over the world bought into it. They would come in the dozens, trying and trying to pull the sword from the stone, but it wouldn't budge. The government even put in a 24 hour security camera, so that if someone were to ever actually pull it out, then it would be captured for the whole world to see. And to make sure they didn't cheat.

But Arthur had had enough of it. He only took the mythology class because it would annoy his father who thought that stuff was childish. They had only finished up the Arthurian Legends yesterday, and Mr. Turner, the teacher, wanted to take a trip out to the sword.

"It will be an experience. Besides, maybe one of you will pull the sword out." Mr. Turner told the class yesterday.

But no one expected a million people to be in the clearing. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration. But it is really crowded, more than normal. Arthur stood with his friends. They were just as thrilled to be there as he was. Only Garret showed any interest in being there.

"Come on guys. Let's just stand in line. It won't hurt anything." He said excitedly.

"Yeah, nothing except my pride." Arthur said.

"It's not like we expect you to pull it out." Eli said. Garret walked over to the line and Eli and Arthur followed. Arthur stood, scanning the crowd, tuning out the noise, when he caught a glimpse of ruffled, black hair. Hair that seemed really familiar. It was like he knew it from somewhere, but the word was stuck on his tongue. Losing sight of the head, Arthur tried to forget.

"Is that your sister?" Garret said, pointing to someone in the crowd. Arthur looked up, expecting to see long, curly black hair and a smirking face, but no, it was just Gwen, Eli's sister. A rush of happiness ran through his body.

"What is she doing here?" Arthur asked.

"Don't act all upset." Eli said. "I invited her. Thought maybe we could all go get lunch somewhere when we are done." Arthur nodded, excited that he got to see Gwen. Hopefully today would turn out to be worthwhile. It was hard, fancying Gwen. He wasn't supposed to. She was his best friends sister. Sisters' were off limits. But damn. Arthur really liked her.

They drew closer to the stone as the line grew shorter. When they neared the stone, a worker stood near, supervising the crowd.

"Remember, you get three tries. No more. Once you are done, more on. I don't want any trouble." The guy said. He spun around to face Arthur and his friends. "Did you guys here that?" Arthur felt a rush of annoyance. Who was this guy, thinking that they were going to be the ones causing trouble?

"Yes. We heard. So sorry that we look like delinquents." Arthur said sarcastically. "What gives you the right to judge us…" Arthur paused, looking for a nametag. "Leon?" The blonde haired man shook his head.

"Hey. No need to get defensive. I give the same speech to everybody." Still feeling annoyed, Arthur decided to ignore him. It was better than getting into a fight and then having to face the consequences.

"Do you ever feel like you are missing something in your life?" Eli asked suddenly.

"Alcohol?" Garret asked.

"No. You have that every night. I mean, something else. Like you have forgotten something." Eli explained. Arthur was confused. What brought this on?

"Why do you ask?" Arthur asked. Eli's eyes bunched together, like he was trying to think of something.

"Don't you feel it here? I feel like I have forgotten something important, but I didn't realize I did until we arrived here this morning." Arthur concentrated, trying to think of what Eli could be talking about. At first, he didn't feel anything, just the hot, sticky air. But then, he did. And it was very frustrating. The raven hair head came back to him. He knew that head from somewhere. But where?

"No." Arthur lied. He didn't know why he did that. Perhaps he was just being stubborn. Or it was because he felt that if he said yes, then he was going to feed into the whole mythology crap.

They reached the stone. It was a lot more massive in person, than in pictures.

"Wow." Garret whistled. Eli stood there with his mouth hanging open. Arthur stared. It was very familiar looking.

"You go first." Arthur whispered to Garret.

"No. You go." He said.

"I don't want to."

"Fine. I will go." Eli stepped up, wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sparkling sword and pulled. Nothing. Nada. The sword did not budge. He took his hands off, wiped then on his pants and tried again. The sword was stuck in the stone. Eli stepped down and shrugged.

"It wasn't like I was expecting anything to happen." He said. Arthur nudged Garret.

"You go. You were the most excited." Garret walked up and grabbed the hilt. With no hesitation, he pulled. And pulled. And pulled.

"I don't think it's going anywhere, mate." Arthur called.

"Whatever." Garret said, but he seemed sad. It was Arthur's turn. As he walked up, he remembered from class what it was called in the legends. Excalibur. King Arthur's sword. The sword that could kill anything. For some reason, Arthur wasn't as skeptic as he usually was. Instead, he was filled with a feeling of belonging. He grabbed the hilt. It was cool to the touch, despite being in the hot sun all the time. This was it, Arthur thought. He was going to be the one to pull it out. Perhaps the legends were true. There was no evidence to say otherwise, other than magic existing apparently. He wrapped his other hand around his own and pulled. He thought he felt the sword budge and Arthur grew hopeful. But the sword was stuck still.

With a feeling of disgust, Arthur let go. Of course the legends weren't real. That's the whole reason why they are legends. He grabbed the sword in anger and pulled. It didn't give way. This whole place was a joke. The whole story was. King Arthur didn't exist. Merlin didn't exist. The round table didn't exist. It was just a story told so the real king would be a fair one.

Arthur turned his back on the stone and was about to let the others have their turn. But when he did, he finally got a full glimpse of raven hair. The boy was skinny, tall, and very, very familiar. But Arthur was sure that he had never met the man in his entire life. His mind was racing, however. It was like his body had been struck by lightning. A whisper ran through his head. _You have to believe. I believe in you. Everyone believes in you_. Arthur had no doubt that it was words from the man. With determination, Arthur spun around, grabbed the hilt with one hand, and pulled.

The sword came free.

**A/N: Okay. It is going to stay a one shot for now unless I get several people wanting to read more.  
**

**I appreciate any reviews about how to make it better. Enjoy your day, or night, or afternoon.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am still here, surprisingly. I was going through old work of mine the other day and came across this fic once more. I remembered how intrigued I was about the idea of a modern Arthur having to pull out Excalibur and decided that perhaps I should continue this on. Before, I did try to continue it on, but I remember being really frustrated with what I came up with and just left it alone. But this time, I have a few ideas that I think I could work with. Beyond with the next chapter, I might not have much more but I figured you all deserved something more than what I gave. **

**So, without further ado, here is chapter 2, two years later after the first one. **

It started as a small murmur. The clearing was crowded and only a handful of people could actually see the sword in the stone. But the small murmur traveled through the masses with surprising speed and the clearing was abuzz with the news. Somebody had managed to pull the sword out.

As loud as the clearing was, Arthur heard none of it. To him, an eerie silence descended down upon the clearing. Lost in his thoughts, Arthur was frozen to the spot. The hilt was cool to the touch, slightly foreign in Arthur's hand yet it felt inexplicably right. But that wasn't what bothered Arthur the most. Instead, he was focused on the itch that was at the back of his head. Well, it wasn't really his head, Arthur realized. It was more like the back of his mind. And the more that Arthur thought about this itch, the more he wanted to scratch it. So he did.

A burst of color, smells, and sounds exploded from the itch. It was like watching a movie in fast forward about some distant, fantastical life. The images went by too fast for Arthur to truly understand, but he recognized several faces: Garret, Eli, Gwen, Morgan, even the worker named Leon. The raven haired boy he saw a few minutes earlier appeared the most though. Arthur saw a crown and several beasts he was fairly certain didn't exist except in fairy tales. It ended as suddenly as it had started.

Dizzy and disoriented, Arthur looked around the clearing to see that his friends were in various states of confusion. They all had their eyes wide open, unblinking. Arthur wondered if they too, were seeing the weird movie scenes (although Arthur now realized they were memories). The pictures in his head, the memories he somehow unlocked, were taking a more definitive shape. Now he could discern that Eli and Garret had different names in his memory: Elyan and Gawain. Although Arthur was still confused, he had started to become more aware of his surroundings, especially the noise. The crowd in the clearing thundered with the noise of many excited, disbelieved, indignant, and shocked people. Slowly, Arthur could tell that the people in the clearing were pressing forward, attempting to get closer to the stone, closer to Arthur. At this moment it dawned on Arthur that this was one colossal confusion as no one had any clue what happened, or why it happened. Well, all but one.

The black haired boy who Arthur saw earlier was making his way determinedly through the large crowd. The boy made his way easily through the people, as though there was no one in his way. Although the boy seemed preoccupied with something, there was a large smile on his face. Suddenly, faster than Arthur thought it would take him, the boy was in front of him. With no warning, the boy attacked Arthur with a fierce hug. Typically, Arthur wasn't in the habit of letting complete strangers hug him. But there was no time to say otherwise, as the strange boy let go after seconds. As he did, the boys' demeanor changed. No longer filled with emotion, his face hardened not in a savage way, but rather as though he was assembling a plan.

"Right, so. Arthur, I need to get you guys out of here now." Arthur stared, wondering how the boy knew his name and opened his mouth to ask just that but was silenced. "No questions. Not just yet. Now listen. You all have to follow me exactly. Don't talk to anyone, try not to look at anyone, and for goodness sake if you see Gwen grab her and keep going." Arthur watched the boy take a few steps forward before he turned back and realized that Arthur and his friends weren't following him. With a dramatic sigh that Arthur was fairly certain was done on purpose, the boy huffed his way over to Arthur once more and held out his hand. Arthur glanced down in confusion. Did the boy want Arthur to take his hand? The boy just sighed once more.

"Give me the sword Arthur." This was not what Arthur had expected.

"What? No." Arthur exclaimed, suddenly protective over the sword he held in his hand. "It's mine. I pulled it out of the stone." The boy rolled his eyes.

"Yes. You did. Congratulations." Came the sarcastic reply. "But you are going to hurt someone with it. Or with my luck you'll end up impaling yourself once again, and I'll be damned before I let that happen again. So, give me the sword. I'll give it back." Slowly, Arthur handed the sword to the boy, who just placed it in a belt loop where it rested comfortably. Arthur wondered how the sword didn't cut through the material. He realized that it probably wasn't a belt loop then.

The boy reached out and grabbed Arthur's arm, forcibly dragging him toward the advancing crowd. Unable to wrench out of the boys' grasp, Arthur looked behind him to see Eli, Garret, and the worker, Leon, following him. Arthur glanced forward again to the person who was currently dragging. The boy did look really familiar. Arthur decided maybe it would be best to talk to the boy.

"Really, you don't have to hold my hand any more Merlin. I'm not five." Arthur wasn't sure where the name came from, but Merlin seemed to suit the boy in front of him. Merlin didn't stop, but Arthur could tell that something made the boy slow.

"I'm not holding your hand you prat. I'm holding your arm." But Merlin conceded and let go of Arthur. The five of them were truly in the middle of the thick crowd now, as the people continued to press in. In all the noise though, Arthur heard someone calling his name. Looking for the source of the cry, Arthur spotted Gwen, who somehow made her way to the front of the crowd. As they neared her, Arthur held out his hand, grabbing Gwen's and pulled her into their small group. Evidently just as confused as he was, Gwen kept quiet as Merlin continued pushing through the crowd. Finally, Arthur began to make out the parking lot where several cars sat and just beyond that, a couple of small cafes.

Unsure of where they were going, Arthur kept following the boy ahead of him. At first, Arthur thought maybe they would get in one of the cars and drive away. But Arthur was a little uneasy about that, thinking that it would just be a little awkward and sounded too much like a kidnapping. Then Arthur thought maybe they would go into the gift shop, but that was much too crowded. Instead, the boy made his way across the street to the cafes where people were spilling out, curious of the events that happened. Arthur began to question the boys' intellect. The restaurants were just as likely to be as crowded as the gift shop and there would be nowhere to have a private conversation where Arthur's questions would be answered without the threat of being overheard. But surprisingly, the café Arthur was led to have cleared out and the gawking people stood transfixed and unmoving as the group of six walked past.

Once everybody was inside, the doors closed and locked without anybody doing so. Confused and a little scared Arthur decided self-locking doors were the least of his problems right now. Instead, he turned to see Eli, Garret, Gwen, and even Leon sitting down at a table.

"Take a seat Arthur." The boy waved his hand in the direction of an empty chair next to Gwen. "Would you guys like anything to eat or drink? On the house."

"Isn't that illegal? Where's the manager?" Eli asked. This was the first time Arthur noticed that the café was devoid of any working life. They were truly alone since the pressing crowd. Although only fifteen minutes had passed since Arthur pulled out the sword, it seemed like a lifetime. The boys' voice pulled Arthur out of his head.

"Nope. Totally not illegal." The boy said.

"How do you know?" Leon asked.

"Because," the boy said with a mischievous look in his eyes. "I own the place."

"What? How old are you? You can't possibly be old enough to own a restaurant." Garret said, a little alarmed. The boys' smile only grew.

"Another question I'll answer later. Anyways, welcome Arthur, Gwen, Leon, Gawain, and Elyan to Camelot." The boy said from behind the counter. "What can I get for you guys?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Behold! Another chapter in relatively short time considering I am back at school. I'm not too sure where this is going, but it is fun to right, although a little difficult to get the emotions and characterization right. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy this. And thanks to all those who reviewed on the last chapter. They always make my day to know that someone appreciates this.**

There was silence in the café called Camelot while the boy whipped up some tea for everyone. Eventually though, the activity ceased and he sat at the table with everyone else. As the boy passed out the cups of tea, Arthur accepted his with a polite thank you. The boy smiled and muttered something under his breath that Arthur couldn't quite make out.

The six of them sat there at the café table without speaking, just glancing awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to say. Gwen and the others seemed to be deferring to Arthur while the boy refused to stop staring at Arthur. Fed up with the silence and lack of answers, Arthur decided maybe he should say something.

"What just happened? Why was I able to pull the sword out of the stone?" Arthur asked. The boy just raised an eyebrow. "And who are you?" The last question was softer, spoken as though it were the key to all his problems.

"You know the answer Arthur. You called me by my name earlier after all." The boy laid his arms down on the table and leaned on the table toward Arthur. Arthur unconsciously mimicked him. Blue eyes met blue eyes.

"I remember you Merlin." Arthur said quietly. "But I don't know why I remember you." Merlin blinked his eyes.

"Yes. I suppose you don't. I suppose you all don't." Merlin sat back in his chair. Garret raised his eyebrows at Arthur, confused, while Gwen and Eli seemed to shift uncomfortably in their chairs.

"Please, you have to explain what is going on." Gwen said hesitantly. Arthur watched Merlin look out the windows of the café. He knew there was still a mob of people out there, all wanting to get in, all wanting answers, the same as Arthur. But Arthur refused to look behind him at the outside world. Instead, he kept watch on the strange man in front of him, the strange man he somehow impossibly knew, the strange man he was inclined to trust with his life. Arthur watched as an array of emotions went across Merlin's face in quick succession: anger, confusion, happiness, thoughtfulness, and the one that surprised Arthur, sorrow. But before Arthur could truly comprehend what he just witnessed, Merlin turned back to the group and spoke.

"I guess I should start at the beginning," the boy began, however he quickly decided against that. "Well, that would be too complicated if I started at the very beginning. I could start with the truth. No no. That would shock you too much. What if I started with the sword? Yes. That could work." This was when Merlin stopped talking and looked at the group, finally addressing them directly. "First, tell me. What do you remember?" Arthur went to talk, but was stopped.

"No. I need someone else to tell me."

"Since when do you dictate what I do, Merlin?" Arthur couldn't help himself. The words just poured out of his mouth, an innate desire to defend himself and position he held, as well as to trouble Merlin. He didn't know why he felt he had to say that, he just knew he had to.

"I've always been the one to tell you what to do." Merlin said. "But never mind that now. Leon, what do you remember?" The tough looking employee of the sword in the stone gave a pensive look as he took his time to answer.

"I don't really know what you mean by remember. But for some reason there are repeated images of a castle and a shield with a dragon on it that I can't shake from my head. There are weird feelings that I don't know where they came from. For some reason I feel as though I have to protect them." Here, Leon gestured to Arthur and Gwen.

"It's the same for me," Eli spoke up. "Horses and armor and I know my name is Eli, but the name Elyan just sounds right, as though that is who I am."

"And for me. I have the name Gawain running around my head." Arthur turned to Gwen, expecting her to say something, but all she did was close her eyes as though she had a headache.

"Right, well, I suspect it will be sometime before the actual remembering kicks in. And yes, I will explain what I mean by that in just a moment. Now, what I am about to tell you will be complicated for you to wrap your head around, but don't worry, I know for a matter of fact that you'll come around to it." Merlin smiled gently at them all.

"As you all know, about nineteen years ago, the sword in the stone appeared pretty much out of nowhere. There was just a loud boom and then it was there. Or so the people say. How could there be an account of the noise if nobody was there to witness how it came into existence?" Merlin's question made Arthur's skin prickle and the tension heightened.

"That was just made up, to give the sword in the stone more mystical properties than it already had. This is what really happened. Nineteen years ago, I was notified of a significant birth in the world, one I had been waiting a long time to happen. Upon hearing the news, I went to an ancient lake and asked for the sword to be returned to me. I was happily granted my request and made haste to return to the clearing you were at today. There, I simply returned the sword back to original stone it was housed in." Arthur was struggling to make sense of Merlin's story. While said in vernacular, the details were impossible. Impossible yet just a little too familiar.

"Hold up. Wait just a moment. You claim you were the one to put the sword in the stone nineteen years ago. But you don't look more than 25 if that. You would have had to be four or five at that time." Garret burst out accusingly.

"I'm a lot older than I look." Merlin said a little darkly. Disturbed by the statement, Arthur tried to return back to Merlin's tale. "As I was putting the sword back in the stone I also sealed it with enchantments. One was to ensure that only the right person would be able to pull the sword out and the other enchantment was to break the bonds in the minds of the reincarnated and return the memories of the past." As Merlin spoke the words Arthur's mind raced, attempting to piece together the information he was given, trying to make sense of it.

"Enchantment? Like magic?" Leon said. "You know magic doesn't exist. You know that, right?" Merlin stared at them unblinking, and then all of a sudden his blue eyes turned gold and back again into blue. Arthur gasped as the air warmed and the café suddenly felt brighter and cozier. Again, another impossibility that didn't feel so impossible. In fact, the whole situation felt downright familiar.

"You were saying?" Merlin said, eyebrow raised, adopting a teasing tone. "Where was I? Right. After I finished protecting the sword, I settled in for a long wait. As much as I wanted to go find this person right away, I knew he had to grow up on his own and that we would meet when the time was right. So I bought this place once I realized that it was becoming more a tourist spectacle than I expected. It gave me a good opportunity to keep an eye on the clearing and it isn't a bad investment either. And then my waiting finally paid off and the person I was waiting for finally walked his lazy arse into the clearing." Arthur realized that this was his cue to say something, anything, because it was obvious that Merlin thought Arthur was the important person he was waiting for. But Arthur couldn't bring himself to say anything because again it was completely illogical to think of such a thing, yet Arthur couldn't bring himself to refute the point and he realized, none of his friends could either.

"So you have been waiting for me to show up?" Arthur said. Merlin only nodded. "But why? How did you know I was the person you were waiting for?"

"It helps that you look that same." Merlin said drily.

"Look the same?" Gwen questioned.

"Yes. Reincarnation. You were listening when I said that, right?" At their blank looks, Merlin sighed. Ever since Merlin finished the first part of his story, he had been gaining back his wit and sarcastic nature that Arthur assumed he had, but now Merlin was back in a dark place.

"It's like, well it's like. Look. You guys have heard about the Arthurian legends, right?" They all nodded.

"Yes. We actually just finished up that unit in Professor Turner's class. The tales included King Arthur, who was supposedly the best king the realm had ever seen, with the Knights of the Round table and their gallantry…and Queen Guinevere…who had an affair with Lancelot…and…there was the king's advisor…the warlock Merlin…" Eli had started to trail off with his words as the familiarity of the names hit them.

"Yes. There was Arthur, and Gwen, and the Knights, Gawain, Elyan, Leon," As Merlin said each name, he gazed at the namesake sitting in front of him. When he did that, Arthur felt as though the last key he needed was finally handed him. "And then there was me." Merlin finished with a whisper.

"No way," Garret breathed. "No way. This isn't possible. How is this possible? This shouldn't be happening. There is no way this could be happening." Garret, who always kept his cool, who always was happy and bouncy and fun, was freaking out. Elyan didn't look much better and Gwen looked a little sick. Only Leon remained passive.

"It's all true. Well, sort of. Not really. But the fact remains that Camelot and her people did once exist and you are those people." Arthur gripped his head as memories, true memories, not just vague feelings and notions entered his brain. He remembered growing up in the castle, and being a horrible human being. He remembered meeting Merlin and the adventures they had. He remembered Gwen and all their heartache. He remembered Morgana and her descent into madness. He remembered the Battle of Camlann and Mordred wounding him. He remembered Merlin's confession about magic and the hurt he felt and the death he experienced. He remembered it all.

When Arthur opened his eyes, he looked around the room. Everything seemed different. Darker yet richer than he could ever had thought. He looked at his friends, the people he met a lifetime ago, who still managed to be his friends across hundreds of years. Then his eyes looked at Merlin, who seemed happier than he had seen him in a long time, probably the happiest he's seen Merlin be since around the first time they met. This was his true best friend, the one who stuck by his side after all these years. And while no words were spoken between the two, Arthur knew that Merlin understood how he felt.

He was suddenly thrown off balance as a small body slammed into his. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around Gwen who buried her face in his neck.

"You died on me." She said to him. "I lost you for a very long time."

"I know. I am so so sorry." And then she was whisked away by her brother. Arthur remembered that the man had died long before any of them had died. As the siblings embraced, Leon and Arthur observed Gawain who had placed a hand on his stomach.

"I was stabbed there." Gawain said softly. "I died because of that wound." Arthur hung his head.

"I am sorry I wasn't there for you." Arthur told him. Gawain shrugged.

"It's no big deal. Percival was there with me."

"Oh my. Where is Percy and Lancelot? And oh my goodness! What about Morgana? Arthur, don't you have a sister named Morgan in this lifetime?" Gwen said. It had completely slipped Arthur's mind that while they were remembering, others who played a vital role in Camelot might also be remembering. The five of them fell silent at the thought and looked over to Merlin.

"Yes. Well, I am going to need to go visit people as soon as I can. First on my list is Morgana. And then Mordred. And perhaps I can send you to find Percy and Lancelot. But you have to remember that not only do you have your previous life's memories, but you also have this new life to draw upon. That changes a person. You will never be the person you were in Camelot and you will never be your modern personality again either. These won't affect you all too much, but hopefully the different experiences that Mordred and Morgana grew up with will help them deal. But don't worry. I made too many mistakes last time and I intend to fix them in this life." Arthur thought back on his childhood. Morgana was his older half-sister, her mother had died right after she was born. She grew up with their dad and later Arthur's mum and Arthur. She was kinder in this life and softer. She didn't grow up looking over her shoulder and peering around corners. Perhaps Merlin was right and she would be okay until Merlin could get to her.

"But what about you Merlin?" Gawain said. "What about your new modern life?" Gwen's eyes widened and she shushed Gawain.

"It's alright Gwen. They should know." Merlin said.

"Know? Know what?" Arthur asked, suddenly concerned and wondering why Gwen seemed to know.

"It was several years after your death Arthur when Gwen and I noticed that while everyone else was getting older and eventually dying, I looked exactly the same. I didn't know what was happening and after we did some research, we discovered what was happening. Do you recall the name Emrys in your study of the legends?" Arthur did remember. And he didn't like where he thought the conversation was heading. "It means immortal. I had to watch my friends and family all die one by one. I then had to wait. I was told by the Great Dragon that Arthur and Camelot would rise again when Albion's time of need was greatest. So I waited for you all to arrive again, to welcome you back." That explained the pain and sorrow that Merlin had in his eyes. Arthur couldn't even begin to imagine the patience and agony Merlin must have suffered. They were all quiet for a while, processing what they just heard.

"Oh come on guys. It wasn't too bad. I made new friends, got to watch the Renaissance and exploration and the technology that came about. It is actually really amazing when you think about it. Everything that is modern today would have been considered magic back in Camelot's time."

"Idiot." Arthur said gruffly.

"At least I didn't have to wake you up every day. I think I might have gone mad if I had to do that."

"Alright, alright. Enough. So, how much of the legends are true? I mean, I understand they pretty much got everything wrong with us, but what about you? How much is true?" Gawain asked.

"Yes. I would like to know that as well," Arthur said. "They say you were the most powerful warlock of all time. And that you were an old man with a long white beard."

"Of course they would get that one detail right. And you disguise yourself like that one time." Merlin muttered.

"If I remember correctly it was more than one time," Arthur said. "So it's true then. You were the most powerful warlock of all time?" Merlin shifted uncomfortably.

"That's what the druids said. And I haven't come across someone who could match me for my power. Morgana was the closest, but she didn't have enough. But really though, it doesn't matter."

"As humble as ever. If it were me, I wouldn't have minded some recognition," Gawain said. "Arthur, what's the matter? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Arthur replied. "Just a little shocked that I had the most powerful warlock of all time cleaning my quarters."

"Well, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to. Besides, there is much to do now. I'm glad you all are back, but it is time to think a little more critically about the circumstances we are in. And I believe that I need to make some house calls in the next few minutes. So how about we take a break, gather ourselves, and meet back elsewhere in a few hours?"

And with that, the first meeting of the Round Table in many years dispersed.


End file.
